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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2021)
The Nugget Vol. XLIV No. 6 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com Housing in City of Sisters — by the numbers PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 Wednesday, February 10, 2021 Students create content for trail signs Back in action! By Sue Stafford Correspondent By Bill Bartlett Correspondent The 2020 Census is delayed 4 again. Trying to get a peek at the new number for Sisters9 popu- lation is frustrating. We put a man on the moon 50 years ago but it9s been almost 10 months since the official count started and we still don9t have a num- ber for Sisters. It is under- standable that Portland or Eugene might take a while to tabulate, but Sisters? Not even a preliminary number. Not even an estimate. In the years between the PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK Folks in Sisters are grateful and excited to get back into the gym after the State of Oregon slightly relaxed restrictions, allowing gyms and health clubs to reopen with strictly limited numbers at any given time. The change recognized that staying active and fit is a critical aspect of well-being, especially in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. See HOUSING on page 23 Through a collabora- tive effort of the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA), Rima Givot9s Sisters High School biology students, and Bethany Gunnarson9s art stu- dents, interpretive signs are being created for the Tollgate Trail that winds through Trout Creek Conservation Area (TCCA) in the woods adjoining the high school. <Having been a high- school educator, I am very aware that Sisters High School is unique and blessed to have a conservation area immediately adjacent to See SIGNS on page 22 Cloverdale Fire District Businesses launch during COVID-19 to seek local option levy By Jodi Schneider Correspondent The Cloverdale Fire District Board of Directors voted unanimously last week to place a local option levy on the May ballot to fund enhanced emergency medical and fire response for District residents. The Cloverdale District lies in the rural lands east of Sisters. The levy would have a tax rate of $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value (not market value) for a period of five years. For every $100,000 of assessed property value, the cost would be $135. According to the District, funds from the levy would be used to ensure two paid firefighter-medics will staff the main station 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At least one of the two on duty would have para- medic advanced life support training. Paramedics with advanced life support skills bring a level of emergency medical help on scene that was once only available at a hospital. Inside... Currently, the District has just two staff members 4 the fire chief and train- ing officer who can provide response from the station while on-duty and other- wise relies on volunteers to respond to calls. Cloverdale Fire response would con- tinue to be supported by its volunteer firefighters and EMTs. Local option funds would also allow the District to locate an advanced life support ambulance within the Cloverdale District. Ambulance service for District residents is cur- rently provided by Sisters- Camp Sherman Fire District; this arrangement will con- tinue even with passage of the levy. Passage of the levy would provide for an ambulance to be stationed in Cloverdale Fire District, allowing for faster response and advanced life support when seconds count. Cloverdale Fire District See LEVY on page 8 The COVID-19 pandemic has closed thousands of busi- nesses across the country, but for Deb Yannariello, co-owner of Sisters Depot Kitchen & Cocktail Bar, it seemed a good time to start a new one. <We bought the building in September and we opened mid-December,= she told The Nugget last month. <We have no history here at all and I think we9re doing good for January. Everything here is new 4 including the menu 4 and we have an outdoor, covered dining area and a heating element, and that def- initely helps. On weekends we started doing music with a solo acoustic-guitar singer 4 a one man show 4 and people are enjoying it.= Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade, according to government data, seizing new opportunities after the pandemic shut down and reshaped the economy. Hair stylist and art- ist Casey Gardner, owner PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER Hair stylist and artist Casey Gardner of Bloom Studio, took the plunge to open her business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. of Bloom Studio, has been building clientele after open- ing in June 2020. <I9ve had an ad running in The Nugget every couple of weeks and have gotten a lot of feedback from that,= Gardner said. <I lived in Sisters for 12 years and people know me. Although I moved to Salem, I9m back, and it9s been great 4 plus I get to display my art right in the salon. It9s been word of mouth. A lot of clients have been sent my way because some other places have closed because of COVID-19. I9ve kind of filtered right back into the Sisters community and every- body9s been so welcoming. I sanitize the station after each person leaves and we wear masks and I try to have only one person in here at a time.= For some during this pandemic time, running a small business has been a make-it-up-as-they-go-along trial. Cibelli9s Pizza opened in December and manager See BUSINESSES on page 23 Letters/Weather ............... 2 Sisters Naturalist .............. 6 Announcements ...............10 Fun and Games ................16 Classifieds .................. 19-21 Meetings .......................... 3 Obituaries ........................ 8 Entertainment ................. 11 Crossword .......................18 Real Estate .................21-24